Hawks or Pats? SI Kids Picks Super Bowl XLIX!

You might have forgotten in all the Deflategate hubbub, but there’s a football game on Sunday! And it’s for all the marbles! Super Bowl XLIX pits Russell Wilson and the defending champs the Seattle Seahawks against three-time winners Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The last time these two teams met was in 2012 during the regular season. This time, their matchup could crown a new dynasty in Seattle or solidify Brady and coach Bill Belichick’s place in NFL history.

The stakes are high, but there a bit greater for the Pats: If they lose, they’ll have a 3-3 Super Bowl record under Belichick, which would definitely take some shine off the team’s accomplishments. And then there are those rumors of under-inflated footballs and cheating. If the Pats win, the controversy will likely die way down; if they lose, all people will say on Monday is that Brady needed an illegal edge.

On the Seahawks side, the big question mark is Richard Sherman. He finished the NFC title game with a busted elbow. He’ll be in the game Sunday, but how effective will he be? And what about Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch? Seattle’s offense was, well, offensive against the Packers, but they seemed to get on track at the end of the game in time to steal victory from Green Bay.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait much longer to find out how all these storylines resolve themselves. But the editors at SI Kids think they already know who will leave Arizona as champs. Check out our Super Bowl picks below!





Photo: Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images